Salvia plant named ‘Sweet Petite’

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct cultivar of perennial  Salvia  plant named ‘Sweet Petite’ characterized by its very large lavender-pink flowers from dark rosy-red buds, densely arranged in verticils. The new plant has a short, compact habit with stiff, upright, heavily-branched stems and a strong vigorous growth rate and gray-green foliage. ‘Sweet Petite’ is useful for landscaping as a specimen plant or en masse.

Botanical denomination: Salvia pratensis.

Cultivar designation: ‘Sweet Petite’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(b)(6)

The first public disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of aphotograph and brief description on a website operated by WaltersGardens, Inc. on Feb. 1, 2018. The claimed plant was first sold on Jul.9, 2018 by Walters Gardens, Inc., who obtained the plant and allinformation relating thereto, from the inventor. No plants of Salvia‘Sweet Petite’ have been sold in this country or anywhere in the world,nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made, more than one yearprior to the filing date of this application, and such sale ordisclosure within one year was either derived directly or indirectlyfrom the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofornamental sage plant hereinafter referred to by the cultivar nameSalvia ‘Sweet Petite’ or as the new plant. The new plant was selectedfrom a block of seedlings resulting from an open pollination in latespring of 2013 with the unreleased, proprietary hybrid known as 12-23-09as the female or seed parent and the male parent is unknown but may havebeen any sage from a large number of other hybrids and selectedcultivars within the breeding area of a wholesale perennial nursery inZeeland, Mich., USA. Seed was collected in the summer of 2013 and sownat the same nursery. The new plant was initially evaluated in the summerof 2015 and assigned the breeder code 13-40-1 through the trial process.

The new Salvia was further evaluated and asexually propagated initiallyby division and later by basal cuttings taken at the same nursery inZeeland, Mich., USA in 2015. Evaluation of these and further cuttinggrown plants shows that Salvia ‘Sweet Petite’ continues to be stable andproduce true to type plants in successive generations of asexualpropagation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of Salvia ‘Sweet Petite’ have not been observed under allpossible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, nutrition and lightintensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

Salvia ‘Sweet Petite’ can be closely compared to Salvia ‘Sweet 16’ U.S.Plant Pat. No. 24,311, ‘Ballerina Pink’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 29,957,‘Pretty in Pink’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 29,550 and Salvia ‘Pink Dawn’ U.S.Plant Pat. No. 26,343. ‘Sweet 16’ flowers for a shorter season on tallerand broader plants. ‘Ballerina Pink’ has softer, lighter pink flowers onslightly taller plants. ‘Pretty in Pink’ has more vibrant lavender-pinkflowers on slightly larger plants. The stems and calyxes of ‘Pink Dawn’are much darker pigmented with greyed-purple than the new plant, theflowers are darker, deep, purplish pink and the habit is taller than thenew plant. The female parent, 12-23-09 is taller in habit and hasflowers of a different hue. Further comparison with the female parent isnot possible as it was not maintained.

The following characteristics in combination distinguish Saliva ‘SweetPetite’ as a new and distinct cultivar from all other cultivars known tothe inventor:

1. Very large lavender pink flowers densely arranged in verticils;

2. Stiff, upright, heavily-branched stems;

3. Dark rosy-red flower buds;

4. Short, compact, rounded, strong, vigorous and winter-hardy habit;

5. Rugose gray-green foliage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the unique traits and theoverall appearance of Salvia ‘Sweet Petite’. The colors are as accurateas reasonably possible with color reproductions. Variation in ambientlight spectrum, source and direction may cause the appearance of minorvariation in color. The plant used in the photographs was a two-year oldplant grown in an open, full-sun trial garden at a wholesale perennialnursery in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental water and fertilizer whenneeded.

FIG. 1 shows the plant habit in full flower in a landscape.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the flower scape with the buds, flowers,stems and calyxes.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references except where commondictionary terms are used are based on the 2015 edition of The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart. Salvia ‘Sweet Petite’ has not beenobserved under all possible environments. The phenotype may varyslightly with different growing environments such as temperature, light,fertility, soil pH, moisture and plant maturity levels, but without anychange in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptionsare based on two-year old plants growing in an outdoor full-sun trialgarden at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. and greenhouseforced two-year old plants. Plants were given supplemental water andfertilizer and plant growth regulators were used for the greenhousetrials only.

-   Botanical Classification: Salvia pratensis (Linnaeus);-   Parentage: Female or seed parent proprietary hybrid 12-23-09;    unknown male or pollen parent;-   Plant habit: Winter-hardy herbaceous perennial; multi-stemmed,    compact, rounded, with mostly basal foliage, and flowers in several    tightly arranged verticils on branched upright racemes displayed    above foliage; in flower with panicles about 40 cm tall and about 55    cm wide at the fullest point; cauline foliage extends up the stems    about 20 cm and 48 cm wide;-   Propagation: By basal vegetative shoot cuttings; time to produce a    rooted stems about two weeks;-   Growth rate: Rapid, vigorous, finishing in a 65 mm container in    about 7 weeks from rooted cutting, and from 65 mm container to    flowering 3.8 liter container in about 8 weeks-   Root description: Fine, well-branched; color dependent on age and    soil type, from cream to dark tan in color;-   Foliage: Opposite, simple, rugose, lanceolate; margin crenulate;    glabrous and matte abaxial and adaxial surfaces; acute apex and base    cordate to auriculate with lobes frequently overlapping; leaf blades    about 12.5 cm long and 6.5 cm across, decreasing in size distally;    average about 9.0 cm long and 5.0 cm across; faint sage fragrance;-   Foliage color: Adaxial surface between RHS 138A and RHS 138B;    abaxial surface nearest RHS 146B;-   Venation: Reticulate; impressed on adaxial side and costate on    abaxial side; pubescent abaxial, puberulent adaxial;-   Vein color: Adaxial midrib nearest RHS 145C; adaxial primary and    secondary veins nearest RHS 145C toward midrib and gradually    darkening to nearest RHS 138A toward leaf margins; abaxial midrib    nearest RHS 145C; abaxial primary veins nearest RHS 145C and    secondary veins gradually darkening to nearest RHS 146C toward leaf    margin;-   Petiole: Concavo-convex; pubescent abaxial and along margin,    sparsely puberulent adaxial; to about 5.5 cm long and 5.0 mm wide,    average 3.5 cm long and 4.0 mm wide at base;-   Petiole color: Adaxial and abaxial surfaces nearest 146D;-   Flower description: Perfect, bilabiate, verticillate with flowering    generally beginning at lower verticils and advancing up the scape,    but not all flowers at each verticil opening at the same time giving    the effect of a scape being in continuous flower for longer periods;    average distance between verticils about 4.0 mm, greater proximally    and less distally; attitude with midline projected about 10 degree    angle above horizontal and hood petal about 45 degree angle above    horizontal; self-cleaning, petals not persistent; flowering    beginning late spring for about six weeks and repeating if initial    scapes removed;-   Flower longevity: About four days on the plant or as cut flower;-   Flower fragrance: None detected under present growing conditions;-   Flower buds one to two days prior to anthesis: Shape is rounded on    top and slightly concave below, with rounded apex; pubescent; about    11.0 mm long, 5.0 mm tall and 3.0 mm wide;-   Bud color: Exposed petals blend between RHS 67A and RHS N66A;    abaxial calyx nearest RHS 146B with veins and blushing on dorsal    portion nearest RHS 187B;-   Flowers: Bilabiate corolla with arcuate hooded upper lip and    tri-lobed lower lip; about 2.4 cm long, 14.0 mm tall and 8.0 mm wide    fused into tube in the proximal 8.0 mm; clustered at verticils with    about six flowers per verticil;-   Petals: Bilabiate corolla; upper hood petal and flattened side to    side vertically, with notched apex and base fused with labium;-   Hood (upper) petal: Minutely pubescent outside, glabrous inside;    about 20.0 mm long, 10.0 mm tall and 3.0 mm across;-   Labium (lower) petal: Consisting of three lobes, two proximal lobes    about 3.0 mm long and 3.0 mm wide at base with rounded apex; center    lobe emarginate, about 5.0 mm long 7.0 mm wide with a 2.0 mm apical    notch in middle; center lobe concaved upwards; total labium about    15.0 mm long, 8.0 mm wide at the widest portion across lobes and 5.0    mm tall;-   Petal color: Abaxial and adaxial hood petal nearest RHS 75C; lower    labium petal abaxial nearest RHS 75C and adaxial nearest RHS 75C    distally and between RHS N74B and RHS N74C in central portion; fused    basal 2.0 mm inside calyx nearest RHS NN155D;-   Androecium: Two, fused with labium, contained within hood petal    except when triggered by pollinator;    -   -   Filament.—Glabrous, fused about 7.0 mm from base of labium            petal; curved around inside of hood petal; about 12.0 mm            long and less than 0.5 mm diameter with a 2.0 mm trip            mechanism at base; color of base nearest RHS 65C, distally            nearest RHS N74D.        -   Anther.—Glabrous, oblong, about 3.0 mm long and 1.0 mm            diameter; longitudinal, dorsifixed; color nearest RHS N187A.        -   Pollen.—Abundant; globose; less than 0.1 mm circumference;            color nearest RHS 12A.-   Gynoecium: One, curved around inside of hood petal;    -   -   Style.—About 24.0 mm long and less than 0.5 mm diameter;            color nearest RHS NN155D at base, nearest RHS 65C near            central portion and intensifying distally about 3.0 mm            before stigma split to nearest RHS 73A.        -   Stigma.—Bifurcate and curved in the terminal 2.0 mm; apex            pointed; color nearest RHS N74B. Ovary; superior; color more            green than RHS 145A and more yellow than RHS 138B.-   Fruit: Nutlet, one to four per flower; rounded, about 1.5 mm    diameter; color darker than RHS 200A; Calyx; five sepals, three    upper and two lower, campanulate, apex acute; fused in basal 4.0 mm;    tube about 7.0 mm long and 6.0 mm tall at mouth and 3.0 mm wide;    lower set bifurcate in terminal 2.5 mm; upper set of trifurcate in    distal 1.0 mm; Calyx color; variable with light intensity, abaxial    bases and regions in little direct sunlight nearest RHS 146B with    veins of nearest RHS 138A, abaxial regions receiving more intense    light developing veins nearest RHS 187A; adaxial between RHS 146D    and RHS 146C with darker veins of RHS 137A toward apex;-   Bracts: Each verticil subtended by two opposite nearly cordate    bracts; apex acuminate, base truncate, margin entire and ciliolate;    coarsely wavy to bent downward toward apex; margin minutely    pubescent, and glabrous above and below; bract size up to 10.0 mm    long and 6.0 mm wide, decreasing distally;-   Bract color: Variable with light intensity, in less light abaxial    and adaxial surfaces nearest RHS 146A with midrib and base nearest    RHS 145C; color with more intense light nearest RHS N186C on both    surfaces;-   Peduncles: Raceme; quadrangular in base cross section; about 20 per    plant; strong; upright; to about 40 cm tall and 4.5 mm across at    base; puberulent to glandular; branches in lower two to four nodes,    upright at 65 degrees above horizontal or greater; branches to about    18.0 cm long and 3.0 mm across at base; average internode distance    about 2.0 cm;-   Peduncle color: Nearest RHS 138A;-   Pedicels: Cylindrical; puberulent to glandular; about 1.5 mm long    and 0.5 mm diameter; puberulent to glandular; nearly horizontal at    flower anthesis;-   Pedicel color: Nearest RHS 146D;-   Disease and pest resistance: Plants of Salvia ‘Sweet Petite’ perform    best with adequate moisture and good drainage and are hardy from    USDA zone 3 to 8. Resistant to diseases and pests beyond that common    to Salvia has not been noted.

It is claimed:
 1. The new and distinct perennial Salvia plant named‘Sweet Petite’ as herein described and illustrated.